Fulfillment
by Monet
Summary: When life feels empty, someone's there to give a young girl a purpose...


TITLE: Fulfillment  
AUTHOR: Monet  
TIME: Between 2nd and 3rd season of "Buffy"  
RATING: PG-13  
DISCLAIMER: I own most of these characters except for the main one. Wish I owned them all... but I am no genius. That title goes to Joss Whedon and his crew.  
  
  
Brooke Zimmerman sat at the table, playing around with her straw as she checked the clock. 11 o'clock at night. She sighed, knowing the person she was supposed to meet was about thirty minutes late. Being 14, it probably wasn't a good idea to be out so late in the middle of downtown - but like she could give a shit.  
  
It wasn't like she had school the next day or anything.  
  
"Hey," came the voice as the brown-haired girl sat down looking worse for wear. She had a cut right above her brow and a bruise on her cheek.  
  
Brooke looked at her friend carefully. "Shit, what happened to you?"  
  
"What the hell do you think?" she answered, almost annoyed.  
  
"Mom's boy toy got to you again?" Brooke shook her head. "Damn, what a total prick."  
  
The brown-haired girl shook her head, her face hard. "Yeah, that's what I keep telling him every time he forces me into my room."  
  
Brooke could see no tears in her friend's eyes at the moment; she had never seen her cry. But there was evidence of tears behind the sad eyes. "Bad tonight?"  
  
Her friend nodded, face softening at the memory of what happened only hours ago. "Mom could give a shit," she muttered. "Bitch. Denies anything I'd ever say to the cops, if I even tried to phone 'em up. Doesn't want to admit her boyfriend's boning her 14-year-old daughter."   
  
"Shit," Brooke muttered. "Why don't you leave? Run away?"  
  
"And go where? Last time I tried that, the cops found me and dragged me back screamin'." There was another shake of her head. "If I'm gonna go, it's gonna be far. Out of this bitchin' piece shit of a town." She frowned, looking so tired all of a sudden. "He fucking took me by the arms and... he practically threw me on the bed. Except he was so fucking plastered, he missed." She pointed to the mark on her head. "That's when my dresser met my head. Then, when I tried to get up... he smacked me. Just got over that last bruise he gave me."  
  
"Girl, one day... he'll have his coming," Brooke said, finishing up her drink.  
  
But her friend shrugged. "Maybe."  
  
"No doubt, Faith. He will." Brooke grinned, tired of this moping shit. "C'mon, let's get outta here and party."  
  
****  
  
It was 3:00am when Faith sneaked back into her room, slipping easily through the living room. Her drunken mother had passed out. Nothing outside of a nuclear bomb could wake her up.  
  
But when she reached her room, he was waiting.   
  
"What the hell do you want?" Faith asked Jimmy. "Thought you'd had enough of this."  
Jimmy grinned, a bottle of cheap whiskey in his hand. He took a swig then grinned at Faith even wider. "I'm never gonna get enough of you, sweetie. Maybe this time, you won't fight so damn hard." He set the bottle down and stood up from the rickety chair he was sitting on.  
  
Faith realized his pants were already undone at the buckle. She curled her hands into fists, stepping towards the door. "You touch me, and I goddamn swear -" But she wasn't quick enough, even in his drunken state.   
  
He had her by the arms. "I like 'em young..."  
  
******  
  
At 5:00am, the front door of the old brownstone flew open and a 14-year-old girl came running out. She kept running and running until her lungs burned.   
  
Even then, she just wanted to keep running.  
  
But her efforts in her room in defense and otherwise drained her. And she found herself slipping against a brick wall in an alley. She curled up and wept silently, feeling dirty and violated - again... and again...  
  
It was never going to stop.  
  
"Faith?" came a voice from nearby.  
  
Faith looked up, seeing a woman standing there, out of place in the dirty streets of the bad side of Boston. "What the fuck do you want?"  
  
The woman, seemingly unfazed by Faith's harsh welcome, came nearer to the girl. "I'm here to present to you your destiny."  
  
"Huh? What the fuck are you talking about?" She managed to get up, glaring angrily at the woman. "I don't have a destiny. And if I do, fate's playing one damn funny joke on me!"  
  
The woman sighed, brows raised in worried. It seemed like she wanted to offer some words of sympathy, but thought the better of it. "You've been chosen, Faith."  
  
"For what? Get the fuck out of here!"  
  
"For something greater. You're the Chosen One. The Vampire Slayer. You've been called."  
  
That shut the girl up for a second. Then, "What the hell are you talking about?"  
  
******  
  
Weeks later, Jimmy sat in the dark bedroom. The girl hadn't been home for awhile, and he hadn't had the patience to keep waiting around. But tonight.... Tonight he had to have a taste.   
  
The door opened, the figure of Faith coming in. She shut the door behind her, locking it and turned around, not once turning on the lights.  
  
Confused at the odd behavior, Jimmy switched on the nearest lamp. "Hey, sweetie. It's been awhile."   
  
Faith stared at him, barely a flinch in her manner. "Yeah. Gladly it has."   
  
Jimmy set down his bottle and moved toward her. "Gladly? Aw, you don't mean that." He grinned, the taste of her already in his mouth as he came up to her, his voice falling into a whisper. "Your mom conked out too early tonight. And I need me some." He put his hands on her arms, slightly noticing how different they felt a little... "Been working out?" he whispered. "Good. Gives you more stamina for me."  
  
Just as he leaned in for a nuzzle in her neck, he felt her arms tense and soon lost his hold on her. "What?"  
  
Faith looked up at him, menacingly. Her hands shot out so quickly, it seemed like a blur. They grabbed the lapels of his jean jacket tightly. She swung him around, forcing him against the door.  
  
He blinked, the air almost knocked out of him. "What the hell?"  
  
"How do you like it now, Jimbo?" she sneered, angrily. "Being the one forced, huh? Do you like that?"  
  
He tried to grab her wrist but she headbutted him hard, his head snapping back against the door with a loud CRACK! He blinked away the stars that danced around. What was going on? Why couldn't he fight back?  
  
He found himself being tossed over towards the bed. He bounced once then ended up on the other side, thudding loudly onto the floor. Groggy from the early alcohol, Jimmy grabbed onto the bed and tried to stand up. Confusion about what was going on overcame him.   
  
"Hate it, dontcha?" came Faith's voice, low and raspy. "Try to get away but you can't." She slowly approached him, fists curled, arms tensed.  
  
Jimmy could barely see her in the dimness of the room. He stumbled a little, trying to stand up tall. "I don't know what the hell you think you're doing!" He moved around the bed and reached out to try and grab her hair.  
  
But his wrist was caught in an amazingly powerful grip. He cringed, then let out a cry as he felt the bones in his wrist break. Staring wide-eyed at the 14-year-old girl, he tried to pull away.   
  
She wasn't letting go, though.  
  
Faith sneered, still holding his useless wrist in her hand. She hit him once in the cheek with her free hand, then shoved him hard in the chest, letting him fly back against the wall. Everything in the room shook.  
  
She stalked toward him, grabbing him by the lapels of his jacket again and hefted him back on his feet. She held him there, even when she knew his legs weren't holding him up. She almost grinned when she finally saw the fear in his eyes.  
  
"You're gonna love it when the police don't believe you," she said in a hushed voice. "You're gonna tell 'em I did it? A weak, little 14-year-old did this to you? Is THAT what you're gonna tell 'em, Jimbo?" With what was almost a growl, she managed to lift him off his feet, slamming his body against the wall. "Tell me how much they AREN'T gonna believe you!"  
  
"What the hell are you?" He looked down on her in shock.  
  
"Something greater than you, asshole," Faith snapped. Her eyes floated down onto the sidewalk below her window. Her Watcher was waiting patiently for her. They were to go to the outskirts of Boston to find a vampire nest. She told her she had to get something really quick.  
  
For a moment, guilt burned in Faith, knowing her Watcher wasn't going to approve of this. What she had become was for the greater good - that's what her Watcher had said even before her training. Her angry eyes looked back at Jimmy, seeing the sweat beading on his forehead. She let go suddenly, his large frame landing harshly onto the floor below. He let out another grunt of pain.  
  
"You're a fucking prick, Jimbo," she said to him, her voice quiet yet threatening. "You touch me or Mom like that ever again, I'll break your goddamn neck, you hear me? I don't wanna see your mug around here ever again."  
  
Jimmy, holding his wrist, got to his shaking legs. He didn't know what to think, what to say. It felt like he was just beaten by some 6-foot tall biker guy instead of a 14-year-old girl. He swallowed back any words that were in his throat and backed slowly away towards the door. Her eyes never left him until he bolted down the hall, never to be seen again.  
  
************  
  
"There you are," her Watcher said as Faith came out of the front door. "I thought you had fallen asleep."  
  
"I'm never gonna fall asleep on the job," the newly-trained Slayer said as they began to walk towards her Watcher's car. "Count on that."  
  
Her Watcher smiled a bit, though her eyes never left the path in front of her. "I think I can count on it, Faith." They reached the car and her Watcher peered over the top. "Did you get what you came for?" she asked.  
  
Faith waited until she was settled into the seat to answer. She looked up at the shabby apartment, staring at the window that led into her bedroom. "Yeah, I did."  
  
"May I ask what it was?" Her Watcher buckled her seatbelt then automatically checked to see if Faith had. "I don't see you with an object of any sort."  
  
Faith just grinned, the concern from her Watcher not going unnoticed. "S'called a reason to live, Ms. S. Now let's kick some vamp ass."  
  
With a nod, her Watcher pulled away from the sidewalk and drove off to fulfill Faith's destiny....  
  
-END- 


End file.
